The Corridors: from Chicago to Los Angeles by train - Southwest Chief

Chicago rises along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the third-largest city in the United States and the acknowledged birthplace of the modern skyscraper: here, after the Great Fire of 1871, American architecture reinvented itself, giving rise to one of the most famous skylines in the world. Its beating heart is the Loop, the business district encircled by the elevated 'L' train, where masterpieces by Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright stand side by side. A short walk leads to Millennium Park, with the gleaming 'Cloud Gate' sculpture (nicknamed 'The Bean' by locals) and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion designed by Frank Gehry. Nearby, the Art Institute of Chicago, one of America's great museums, guards Impressionist masterpieces and Grant Wood's celebrated 'American Gothic'. Along the water, the Chicago Riverwalk offers another vantage on the city, while the boats of the Architecture River Cruise glide between the façades, recounting a century and a half of building ingenuity. Toward the lake, Navy Pier with its Ferris wheel and the Magnificent Mile, the elegant stretch of Michigan Avenue lined with shops and hotels, set the rhythm of city life. Yet Chicago is also music and flavour: the home of electric blues and jazz resounds in the clubs of the South Side, while its tables serve the hearty deep-dish pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs and the food markets of lively neighbourhoods such as Pilsen and West Loop. Rising to the 412-metre Skydeck of the Willis Tower, the gaze sweeps across the lake and the boundless Illinois plain. A city of lakes and skyscrapers, of jazz and bold architecture, Chicago reveals itself on foot, amid the gusts that earned it the nickname 'Windy City' and the unmistakable energy of the American Midwest.

Kansas City, in Missouri, spreads at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers, a city famed for its many fountains, which earned it the nickname 'City of Fountains', second only to Rome. The home of jazz, it preserves in the 18th & Vine district the rich African-American musical heritage and the museum dedicated to baseball's Negro Leagues. Its legendary barbecue cuisine is among the most renowned in the United States. Between art, music, sport and culinary traditions, Kansas City is a vibrant, welcoming metropolis in the heart of America.

Albuquerque stretches along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, where Native, Hispanic and Anglo heritage blend beneath an immense, luminous sky. Its ancient core is Old Town, founded in 1706, with the church of San Felipe de Neri, earth-coloured adobe buildings and pueblo craft shops. High above, the Sandia Peak Tramway — one of the longest aerial tramways in the world — climbs to the crest of the Sandia Mountains for sweeping desert views. The city is famous worldwide for the International Balloon Fiesta, when hundreds of hot-air balloons colour the autumn dawn. New Mexican cuisine carries the aroma of green and red chile, sopaipillas and pueblo dishes. Amid red mesas, art and Native culture, Albuquerque is the gateway to the authentic Southwest.

Flagstaff sits at over 2,100 metres, at the foot of the San Francisco Peaks and surrounded by the world's largest continuous ponderosa pine forest. A laid-back university town, it keeps a brick-built historic centre along the legendary Route 66, lined with cafés, craft breweries and vintage shops. It is the natural gateway to the Grand Canyon, little more than an hour away, as well as to the volcanic landscapes of Sunset Crater and the ancestral ruins of Wupatki and Walnut Canyon. Crystalline skies and minimal light pollution make it one of the world's first dark-sky cities, a haven for stargazing at the Lowell Observatory. In winter, the slopes of Arizona Snowbowl offer surprise skiing in the heart of the Southwest. Flagstaff is an authentic base for exploring both desert and mountain on a single trip.

Los Angeles sprawls along the Pacific coast amid sun-drenched hills, palm trees and endless freeways, a centreless metropolis with a thousand different souls and the undisputed world capital of cinema and entertainment. To explore Los Angeles is to cross neighbourhoods that feel like separate universes: in Hollywood the Walk of Fame threads its stars along the pavement and the Dolby Theatre hosts Oscar night, while the famous Hollywood Sign looks down over the city from Mount Lee. Downtown blends soaring skyscrapers, Frank Gehry's gleaming Walt Disney Concert Hall and the creative buzz of the Arts District, packed with murals, galleries and cafés. The artistic heart beats along the Miracle Mile, home to the LACMA with its iconic street lamps, and on the hills of Brentwood, where the Getty Center holds European masterpieces with breathtaking city views. A more laid-back California unfolds towards the coast: at Santa Monica, with its historic pier and Ferris wheel over the Pacific, and in bohemian Venice Beach, a realm of skaters, street performers and bodybuilders along the boardwalk. Further south, Malibu lines up golden beaches and oceanfront mansions, while Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive embody luxury and high-end shopping. The food scene is a kaleidoscope, from Mexican taco trucks to gourmet restaurants, the stalls of Grand Central Market and the flavours of Koreatown and Little Tokyo. Nearby lie the theme parks of Universal Studios and Disneyland, and just a few hours' drive leads to deserts, mountains or inland vineyards. Dreamy and full of contradictions, blessed by sunshine almost year-round, Los Angeles is a city to be lived on the road, between glamour, ocean and the eternal promise of the Californian dream.